Tax & Accounting Blog

Bangladesh: Trophies for Top Taxpayers

To kick off its second annual VAT Week (July 10-16th) the government of Bangladesh recognized the top 134 VAT paying companies at a ceremony on July 10th. Finance Minister AMA Muhith personally handed the awards to nine national-level recipients along with 27 from the greater Dhaka region, at a ceremony at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre.

The current VAT system has been in place in Bangladesh since 1991. A draft VAT law was recently introduced in parliament to replace the current system. Mashiur Rahman, an advisor to the Prime Minister, has stated that the government’s goal with the draft law is to solve a number of problems firms are facing under the current VAT system. Currently 60-65 percent of the total VAT comes from only a handful of sectors such as tobacco and cigarettes, mobile phones and natural gas.